The end is near.
The NBA regular season ends tonight with some things still to be decided. In the Eastern Conference, the Celtics and the Cavs will have to play tonight for first place. The Heat, Pacers, and the Bulls will all be playing for the chance to be the eight seed. Normally by this time the seeds are set and teams have realized their fate. Many teams still have a chance to win the regular season. Well everyone except Brooklyn (thanks for the draft pick!).
The regular season in some sports can be kind of dull. In baseball, there are so many games that paying attention to each individual game is too daunting. Teams will take games off and players will rest. Granted that happens in basketball too, much to the chagrin of the fans. But my point is this: In the NBA, every game matters. If teams take nights off, it shows at the end of the season. The Celtics lost some very winnable games down the stretch, so now they are fighting for the one seed instead of winning it outright. Whether this will affect them in the playoffs has yet to be determined however.
Night in and night out, there was a slew of NBA games that were worth watching. Fan favorites like the Warriors are always fun to watch simply because of the style they play. Having Klay and Steph on the team doesn’t hurt either. That’s what makes the NBA so enjoyable to watch. Nearly every team has a player that makes you want to tune in. Westbrook in OKC for his sheer inhuman abilities, the Greek Freak in Milwaukee for his dunks from the free throw line, Isaiah in Boston for his fearlessness against big guys, the list goes on and on. Not only that, but these players keep popping up every week. Nikola Jokic became one of my favorite players after being pretty unheard of through the first half of the season. With the playoffs looming, the next great state of basketball looks to kick off.
In the playoffs, everything changes. Teams take no possessions off, and players leave it all on the court. Tempers will flare, technicals will be called, and some of our favorite players will have their season cut short. But that is how the game is played. If the playoffs can live up to what the regular season was able to give us, then we should expect more excitement than a Russel Westbrook posterizing slam.
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